General Recommendations and Guidelines
from MarcannŽ Artwork website: www.marcann.com

The most important factor in the outdoor advertising market is to remember that outdoor posters have to deliver a single, high-impact message in a very short time period. The poster should have bright colors and be legible from a distance. Here are some tips for designing your outdoor poster:
Understand Your Audience

The Outdoor Advertising Institute says that your poster has about six seconds to deliver its message. Make sure your design is simple, yet bold and is readable from a distance. To test the legibility, look at your rough design from a distance equal to 17 times the width of the artwork. Check it under several different types of lighting conditions and angles, since it will be viewed by passing motorists in all kinds of weather and at different times of the day.
Keep It Simple, Bold and Easy to Read

Keep major elements in the poster to three or less. Minimize wording to three or four clear words, with ten at the most. Remember that drivers will not be able to stop and read your message. Typefaces should be highly legible styles. Use the 17 times rule to check the readability of your type. Show the product in a dramatic way, or make a bold statement about what the product is like. We have seen many successful campaigns that don't show the product. They only suggest the feeling, environment or quality of life associated with the product.
Color and Contrast

Make the colors bold and the contrast high. Subtle, low-contrast images will reduce the impact to passing vehicles.
Production Details
There are several standard sizes of billboards and printed bulletins used in the outdoor advertising display market. The names have remained from the old days when the posters consisted of a certain number of panels. Today's posters are made with a considerably smaller number of panels, or may even be all one sheet in the case of a vinyl graphic. However, the basic sizes have remained the same since the panels used to display the older posters are still in use:
  • 30 sheet bleed poster -10 feet 5 inches x 22 feet 8 inches
  • 30 Sheet (No Bleed) 30 sheet (no bleed) posters - 9 feet 7 inches x 21 feet 7 inches
  • 8 sheet junior - the smallest of the typical outdoor posters at 5 feet x 11 feet
  • Printed bulletins come in three basic sizes and are printed on a 54 x 120 inch section panel. Basic sizes are 14 x 48 feet, 20 x 50 feet and 20 x 60 feet.
Vinyl "Skin" Graphics are reproduced on a single sheet or from several panels and then seamed together depending on the size. Digital files for vinyl graphic reproduction are submitted as CMYK Photoshop or TIFF file formats. The image sizes should be as follows:
Vinyl Graphic Size 9 DPI Printed Resolution 12 DPI Printed Resolution
Image Size File Size (MB) Image Size File Size (MB)
14 x 48 ft. 1512 x 5184 31.3 2016 x 6912 55.7
20 x 50 ft. 2160 x 5400 46.6 2880 x 7200 82.9
20 x 60 ft. 2160 x 6480 55.9 2880 x 8640 99.5